ITV Network

Interactive Technologies Profile

Interactive Technologies was founded in 2001. The company is working in the field of the IT, telecommunication services, development and broadcasting of radio and TV programmes , Internet services.

The activities that the company undertakes are research, development and implementation. The company is 100 % private with a Board of Directors. Company team includes about 77 employees - engineers, qualified technicians and employees of economic background.

Interactive Technologies

aims at linking telecommunications, TV, education, information, business, entertainment, advertisement and new media, and to fully exploit the potential and synergies of these fields. The company delivers competitive advantage to its clients through technological innovations.

Interactive Technologies has a long-term collaboration in the field of satellite-related technologies with Eutelsat. Interactive Technologies is the official distributor of Eutelsat services in Bulgaria . The principal fields of collaboration include: teleport services, digital broadcast via satellite, IP based services, tele-education and tele- medicine.

Eutelsat is one of the world’s providers of satellite infrastructure. It provides capacity for 23 satellites, the newest among which offers a broad portfolio of services including Direct-To-Home (DTH) Television & Radio broadcasting for the consumer public, professional video distribution and contribution services, voice & data corporate network solutions, as well as a portfolio of IP applications including broadband Internet access and Internet backbone connections. The company distinguishes itself notably by being the first in Europe to distribute satellite television and pioneering the use of the DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) standard for transmission of digital television.

Eutelsat markets its services directly and indirectly through a network of distributors and partners, which includes leading telecommunication solution integrators, such as Belgacom, British Telecom, Deutsche Telekom , France Telecom, Telespazio, Xantic, as well as service providers such as Hughes Network Systems.

Based in Paris, Eutelsat employs over 400 people from 24 different nationalities and has subsidiaries in Brazil, Italy, Germany and the United States .

Eutelsat has a consolidated revenue figure of 659 M Euro, representing a 13.6 % yearly growth. A detailed presentation of the company is available at: www.eutelsat.com.

The main projects, exploited by Interactive Technologies are:

Building and maintaining an Interactive radio loop for Sofia hospitals network
Elaborating and implementing the GALENOS Project for telemedicine, co-funded by the European Commission. This project allowed the establishment of a trans-European competence network via satellite dedicated to telemedical applications. Until now, 13 terminals have been installed and operate in six different countries ( France , Italy , Greece , Germany , Bulgaria , and Tunisia ). The various trials and demonstrations performed during the project have proven that the system used in the GALENOS network and the satellite user terminal combined with full hardware and software packaged telemedicine workstations (Wotesa + WinVicos), provide a very appropriate system for Telemedicine applications. The success of the GALENOS project has led to proceed with two more EC funded Telemedicine projects, namely:
MEDASHIP: Telemedical Services on board ships (cruises, large ferries etc.)
EMISPHER: Cross-Mediterranean Virtual Medical University for cooperation at expert level and for research
Building a centre for satellite digital transfer of video and audio signal and data for telemedicine for the needs of the Bulgarian Military Medical Academia and its branches and units on the territory of Bulgaria
Building and technological expansion of a reliable satellite communication network for data transfer of video and audio data on the territory of Bulgaria and other countries for the needs of the Bulgarian Military Medical Academy (MMA) and its branches and structures serviced. The satellite communication network, through its stationary and mobile terminals, will transmit data for the MMA’s needs in telemedicine, and will gather data for decision-making and professional purposes in extreme and crisis situations
Generating and developing wide-open 24 hours interactive European and Balkan television (ITV)
Modernising and optimising electronic database collections for e-learning purposes
Participation in the EC MECITV project for building up an intelligent authoring tool for e–learning purposes
Participation in TEMPUS JEP 14464 project in the distance learning area
Participation in the international project E-ACADEMY, Senter, - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands
Participation in the T-Centres project - a joint endeavour between the Government of Bulgaria and the UNDP, which aims at establishing a broad-base network of public telecentres providing services to the widest possible range of users in small or economically underdeveloped communities.

The main activitieswithin the frame of the Interactive Television project are:
Digital Satellite Operator For Pay TV, ITV and Internet Services
Adopting a digital broadcasting platform providing infrastructure for the new TV services
Developing an interactive television and distribution network of optimum communication access in Bulgaria and Europe, including South-East Europe
Setting up advanced business services and solutions for the South-East Europe region through the new interactive television programme, focusing on the integration of entertainment, advertisement, education, and information services
Creating new bilingual (Bulgarian and English) and in future – multilingual - interactive content from the Balkan region and offering it to Europe and the rest of the world. The content will be in the following areas: National identification and mentalities, Human values and cultures, History and heritage, Ethnic groups and religions, Business opportunities, Nature and tourism, Health care, and Global communication.
Provision and maintenance of large quantities of information in virtual libraries ( data, audio/video files)
In March 2004, under the trademark of “iTV Partner”, Interactive Technologies launched a new and less known until now business in Bulgaria – Digital satellite television with a package of interactive applications. The project is put into effect through a new satellite station named “Teleport Sofit”, specially built for this purpose. Teleport Sofit is equipped with the most modern technologies for carriage and broadcasting of digital radio and TV signal. The main service offered by the company to its end users is DTH – direct–to-home with the assistance of a small 60-80 cm satellite antenna and a digital receiver (STB – set top box). Through them every user can receive a bouquet of Bulgarian and foreign TV channels of rich and varied content (some part of the foreign channels will be subtitled or dubbed in Bulgarian of up to 80 %).

The programmes and the data are transmitted via the Eutelsat’s W2 satellite situated at 16” E. The satellite covers all Europe and the strength of the signal is 50 dbW. The unique location of the W2 satellite allows it the exceptional opportunity to receive (through one antenna and a double LNB) a signal from the near–by satellite of Hot Bird, on which there are situated more than 250 unencrypted TV programmes and over 300 unencrypted radio stations.

More info:

Web-site: http://www.itvpartner.com